Troubled Souls During WWII
by KolKolKol
Summary: The rise of Hitler, as told through the eyes of General Ludwig Beilschmidt AKA Germany .
1. Chapter 1: Hitler's Appearance

**Obviously, I do not own Hetalia, or anything else here. It'd be awesome if I did, but I don't. **

**___________  
**

General Ludwig Beilschmidt walked behind the stage, listening to the murmurs of the crowd of Germans in the front. He knew that the Führer was appointing a new chancellor, one who promised to make Germany strong again in times of the depression. But the young general could sense that the Führer didn't quite trust him, somehow. Ludwig looked for the Führer and saw him standing against a wall, speaking with his agents. Ludwig stepped up to him, nodding respectfully.

"Führer Hindenburg," he greeted, snapping a swift military salute. "At ease, General Beilschmidt," the Führer said. Ludwig lowered his hand, standing at attention. "General, I am appointing Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany." Hindenburg gestured to the man quietly standing beside him; Ludwig almost hadn't noticed him.

"Grüße, Chancellor Hitler," Ludwig said, saluting again. Hitler blinked slowly, sizing up the tall German.

"Grüße, General Beilschmidt," he finally said. Ludwig could see why Führer Hindenburg didn't trust the man; his beady black eyes were observant, but gleamed with unknown motives. Hitler watched Ludwig with interest before turning to the stage steps. When he arrived, the Germans assembled before the stage clapped and made respectful yells. Hitler began a speech, mainly speaking about how Germany was great and how it had been cheated out by the Treaty of Versailles. Ludwig studied Hitler, intrigued. The man was a very persuasive speaker, although slightly _ad hominem_. But the Germans listened to Hitler, cheering at his pauses and hope returning to their eyes. Ludwig had to admit that his ideas were good ones; maybe Hitler wasn't as bad as the Führer thought.

"Make sure you keep an eye on him," Führer Hindenburg muttered to Ludwig.

"Yes sir," Ludwig replied, nodding. Hitler wrapped up his speech, raising his arms as a sign of hope while the citizens of Germany applauded him enthusiastically. Ludwig watched as his small black eyes glittered.

* _*_*_*

Ludwig sat at his kitchen table as Feliciano stirred a pot on the counter, which held – of course – pasta. He absentmindedly wondered why Feliciano wouldn't leave his house sometimes.

"How's the new Chancellor?" Feliciano asked, glancing up at Germany.

"Hitler is…very intriguing," Ludwig said carefully. "I believe that he has the interests of Germany at heart."

"That's good." Feliciano seemed distracted, slopping some of the water from the pot onto the countertop.

Ludwig resignedly got out a cleaning rag and mopped up the water. "Feliciano, is something the matter?" Ludwig asked, wringing out the towel into the kitchen sink.

"Oh, nothing much," Italy said. "There's just some lights outside that are kinda bugging me." Ludwig looked out the window. Feliciano was right; there was a reddish glow a few miles away. Ludwig wondered why it looked familiar.

"_Sheisse_!" Ludwig swore as he recognized that the glow was actually flames. The Reichstag was on fire! Ludwig leaped up, grabbed his hat, and ran out the door, leaving a slightly confused Feliciano behind.

Ludwig ran to the source of the flames, jamming his hat onto his head. By the time he reached the Reichstag, the firefighters had arrived and were struggling to put out the fire. Ludwig looked around, attempting to see through the smoke. Squinting against the haze, Ludwig spotted a tall man with spiky brown hair. Pushing through the mass of frightened civilians – why weren't the authorities keeping them back? – Ludwig raced after the man and tackled him. Ludwig immediately recognized the man as Holland. He was, for some reason, shirtless. And, for more obvious reasons, a fire-lighter was lying next to him in the blackened grass.

"Did you start this fire?" Ludwig asked angrily, hands on Holland's shoulders, pressing him into the ash-streaked ground.

"Of course I did, you freaking Nazi!" Holland yelled, struggling against Ludwig's strong hold, swearing in Dutch. Ludwig ignored Holland and dragged him up, towing him over to the authorities. One of the men took him from Ludwig and transported him to the local prison. Ludwig noticed that Hitler and Führer Hindenburg had arrived, watching the fire department futilely try to put out the enormous fire. He approached them and saluted respectfully.

"Ah, General Beilschmidt," Führer Hindenburg said. "I'm not surprised you're here."

"Do we know who started the fire?" Hitler asked Ludwig, never taking his eyes off the flaming building.

"I found Holland running from the scene," Ludwig reported. "With a fire-starter in hand. More will undoubtedly be found inside once the fire is extinguished."

"Good job, General," the Führer said. "And the authorities have Holland now, yes?"

"Yes, my Führer." "Führer Hindenburg," Hitler said. "I do believe that this would be the time to suggest a new idea I have been toying with."

"Yes, Chancellor?" the Führer asked curiously. Once again, Hitler's eyes gleamed as he began launching into his plans for Germany's future.

**__________________**

**Yay, first chapter! Sorry if this is sort of suckish, I know I've been ranting on about this fanfic for a while. So it's kinda bad, and probably slightly historically off. This first chapter tells of Hitler's becoming Chancellor of Germany, and how Fuhrer Hindenburg didn't quite trust Hitler at the beginning. Then the Reichstag Fire, started by Van Der Lubbe, who was from Holland.**

**Well, thanks for reading! Reviews?  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Preparations for the Election

How do you explain that term  
to a ten-year old boy  
who, one day,  
hears it mentioned by some relatives?

And even if you do manage  
to make him understand what it  
actually does mean, do you also  
tell him that because he is

A GERMAN JEW,

perhaps, some day,  
he might be included in it...?

Or should he just not be  
told, so that he remains calm  
and doesn't lose sleep over it?

But what is sleep,  
in front of death?  
Perhaps Death is greater,  
perhaps the two are the same;  
we do not know yet  
but we'll know, by the end of the day;  
the Chambers are yet some hours away.

"To die, to sleep...to sleep, perchance to dream..."

How did Shakespeare realise that?  
Did he know some Jew  
who was persecuted too?  
Perhaps he was wrong,  
maybe he was right...  
Anyway, I suspect we'll find out  
by tonight.

The Holocaust, by Sudeep Pagedar

* * *

*three weeks later*

"So what happened?" Feliciano asked worriedly.

"Chancellor Hitler and Führer Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Decree," Ludwig explained.

"German communists are being shunned now, because of Holland and his stupidity."

"That's horrible," Feliciano murmured. "But why?"

"Because Holland started the fire, and he's a Communist." Ludwig looked idly out the window and flinched. A man was being beaten outside by two other men, and Ludwig knew that he was a communist. The two men shouted something at him and ran off, leaving their victim in the streets. He eventually got up and limped away.

"It's for the good of Germany," Ludwig said, unsure of whether he was explaining to Feliciano or trying to convince himself.

"I suppose so," Feliciano replied. He hadn't seen what had happened out in the streets just a few moments before.

"Elections are being held today," Ludwig commented. "The Communist party definitely isn't going to be very popular."

Before Feliciano could respond, a knock sounded on the door. "General Beilschmidt!" a voice called, still pounding on the door.

Ludwig threw it open. "Yes?" he asked.

"Sorry, General, but Chancellor Hitler requests that you meet with him immediately," the young man said, looking up at Ludwig with a slightly frightened look in his eyes.

"Of course, Lieutenant," Ludwig said, and the man quickly left. Ludwig said a quick goodbye to Feliciano over his shoulder and followed. He hurriedly walked down the cobblestone streets toward the Chancellor's office building, the dimming daylight casting an eerie glow over the sidewalks. Few people were out at this time, leaving Ludwig alone on the street. Chancellor Hitler answered the door almost immediately when Ludwig knocked.

"Ah, good, General Beilschmidt," Hitler said.

"Chancellor Hitler," Ludwig greeted politely, standing at attention.

"Come in, come in, out of the cold," Hitler invited, standing aside and gesturing into the building. Ludwig nodded and entered, following Hitler into a side room. It had a wall full of thick books on dark hardwood shelves, two chairs against the opposite wall, sitting on a thin obsidian rug. The only warmth in the room came from the stone fireplace in the corner, flames licking ominously at the wood behind the grate.

"You wanted to see me, Chancellor?" Ludwig asked, looking back at Hitler. He had sat down in one of the chairs by the fireplace, legs crossed and hands folded, elbows resting on the armrests. Hitler was looking at Ludwig searchingly.

"General Beilschmidt, the Presidential Elections are arriving fast. The other candidates pose no real opposition, but of course, current Fuhrer Hindenburg does," Hitler explained. Ludwig stood a few feet away from him, regarding him with interest. "Your mission is to contact Prussia, make sure he, ah, _monitors_ the votes."

"Yes Chancellor Hitler," Ludwig said. He was confused as to why Hitler was asking him this, but it was not his place to question.

"Good. You leave at once, return only when you know for certain that he will do as you ask." Hitler stood, signaling that the conversation was nodded respectfully and exited the building. While walking back up the cobblestones, he realized that he preferred the sharp winds of the outdoors to the sinister heat of Hitler's private conference room.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano called, running up to him. "You didn't come back, but I glanced out the window and saw you walking past. What happened?"

"I must visit Prussia for a day or so," Ludwig said. "I will be back at least by the day after tomorrow, if not sooner."

"Oh, all right then. Tell Prussia I said hi!" Feliciano said, smiling happily and bounding back into the building. Ludwig shook his head and kept walking.

When he arrived at Prussia's house, it was about seven in the morning. Ludwig wondered if this was an acceptable time to come knocking at his brother's door. He shrugged and did it anyway, knocking until Prussia appeared.

"Hey West!" he said, grinning. "I was just out back. You need something?"

"I have a request from Chancellor Hitler," Ludwig said, glancing up at the small yellow bird happily sitting atop his brother's head. He seemed unaware that it existed.

"Yeah, I know, monitor the votes for the election," Prussia interrupted. "Some kid already came by and told me. Weird kid," he commented. "He seemed scared out of his mind at everything." Ludwig wondered if this was the same lieutenant that had informed him to see Hitler the previous night.

"Then why did he send me here?" Ludwig wondered.

"I dunno," Prussia said, shrugging. "Maybe he just forgot."

"Yes, I suppose he did." Ludwig guessed that it was an acceptable answer, but somehow, he thought that forgetting he had already executed a vital part of his plan was uncharacteristic of Hitler.

"Well, you came all this way, want to stay for a while?" Prussia offered, and the little bird on his hat tilted its head, almost questioningly.

"No thank you, Brother. I must return to Germany; I am sure that Chancellor Hitler remembered and wants me to return."

"All right then. See you later!" Prussia said, raising his hand in farewell.

"Prussia?" Ludwig asked, once more glancing up at the bird on his brother's head. It blinked back at him with shiny black eyes, yellow feathers ruffling in the slight wind.

"Yeah, West?" Ludwig hesitated, then dismissed it. "Eh, never mind."

The walk back to Germany had Ludwig filled with questions. Why had Hitler sent him all the way to Prussia when his brother already knew what he was supposed to do? Had the lieutenant that had told Prussia been the same one who told Ludwig to see Hitler last night? Ludwig asked himself these questions over and over, with the same answers. But more questions arrived as he approached Berlin. Ludwig realized that he didn't recognize over half the armed sentries and guards, which was odd because he had seen them almost every day. But very few faces, if any at all, stood out to Ludwig. He stopped in front of his house, but passed it and made his way back to Hitler's office building.

"Ah, General Beilschmidt," Hitler said when he welcomed Ludwig inside. "I trust you have delivered my message?"

"Yes, Chancellor." Ludwig decided not to inform him that Prussia already knew. "Pardon my asking, but who are all the new sentries?"

"You mean the _Schutzstaffel_? Yes, well, they are just here to help make Germany safer. Our new police force, so to say."

"What happened to the rest of the original force?" Ludwig said. Hitler did not answer. "I think it best you go home now, General," Hitler murmured.

Unable to refuse and interrogate the man, Ludwig nodded. "Yes, Chancellor Hitler."

--------

_**Yeah, I know. This isn't my best work, but it's hard making it good and historically accurate, too. Comments please?**  
_


End file.
